


Apologies

by accelgors



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (Only initially though!!!), Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Masturbation, No pre-established relationship - assumes they didn't date in the past, Pining, Post-Canon, Rejection, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-04-06 01:42:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19052707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/accelgors/pseuds/accelgors
Summary: Gabriel Reyes has a rude awakening for how he hurt Jack Morrison, and to win him over again he must do the unthinkable: give a real apology.





	1. chapter 1

Three years since the last time they’d seen each other, Gabriel Reyes stood at the door of Jack Morrison’s new house. He was lucky that Sombra was still willing to help him find it. Neither of them had earned much goodwill from Talon recently, so he supposed they had to stick together.

In fact, that life was behind him entirely now. A few months ago, he had realized that his quest for revenge was getting nowhere, and causing pain to himself and everyone around him. The higher ups had said themselves that no one leaves Talon, but he invited them to try to stop him. It took the deaths of many of their troopers for them to realize that maybe chasing after him wasn’t a great idea. So they seemed to have left him alone.

After spending some time building his confidence (and swallowing his pride), he was willing to try to make up with the only person whose opinion really mattered to him that much. A surprise visit was probably best. Maybe a bit rude, but that was his style, and Jack had always liked his more risky attitude.

At that moment, he had an even better idea. Wraithing, he moved in through a partially opened window and snuck inside, hugging a wall. There, he saw Jack folding clothes and putting them on a table. The way he saw it, this could end in one of two ways: It could be a fun surprise, or Jack could punch him in the face and they would laugh about it later. Breaks the ice, right?

“What is it, Gabriel?” Jack said, without looking up. Gabriel froze. How the hell did he always know where he was?

When he materialized, he wasn’t sure what to say. Damn, he should’ve prepared notecards or something. “Uh, hi.”

“Hey. You want something, or…?”

“You don’t sound very happy to see me.” He tried not to convey any kind of hurt in his voice. Hesitation would just make him look stupid, but he had expected Jack to be overjoyed. They were reuniting after years. That was what he had always wanted. Why did he sound more annoyed than relieved?

“Just don’t really like having my house broken into. You could’ve knocked.”

Shit. This was already not going according to plan at all. “Well…I’m here now. And I wanted to say—” God, he hated saying it. This word was almost never in his vocabulary. But he had to make things right somehow. “—I’m sorry. For everything.”

Finally turning around, Jack stared at him for a moment. “….That’s it?”

Gabriel was taken aback. “Yeah.” _Smooth._

“You do all of that shit, don’t talk to me for years, then all you have to say is _sorry_?”

He looked away. “Guess you’re mad about that. I wanted to talk to you, just didn’t know how to.”

Jack rubbed his temples. “Look, I tried not to hold a grudge. But yeah, it kind of pisses me off that you waltz in here, apologize, and expect me to kiss your feet and tell you how mature and nice you are.” _Damn. He got me._

Gabriel glared at him. “Why are you being an asshole?”

Jack looked at him, a look of incredulous anger on his face. “Really? I’m the asshole here? For not sucking your dick because you said sorry?”

“Look. It’s hard for me to do, okay? Don’t be a dick.”

“Well whose fucking fault is that, Gabriel?” He fired back. “But you want me to tell you why I’m being an ‘asshole’? Here’s the thing. A while after you fucking abandoned me, I realized something. I wasn’t getting anywhere with you. All I was doing was pissing you off, and all you were doing was trying to hurt me. So I gave up.” Ouch. “Wanted to help you. Went around the world to save your ungrateful ass. But then I moved on with my life. Moved somewhere. Settled down. Made friends.” He took a deep breath, then lowered his voice to normal volume. “And I started dating. You can meet my boyfriend if you want. Think he’d like you.”

But now it was Gabriel’s turn to raise his voice instead. “So you’re just gonna fucking replace me?”

“Do you ever stop with your fucking ego? Not everything is about you!”

Gabriel balled his hands into fists. “You said you’d never give up on me.”

“Things fucking change. You gave up on me. Didn’t talk to me for fucking years.”

“I thought you were my best friend.”

“Now you’re gonna guilt trip me? Seriously? Fuck off. If you’re gonna be a prick, just leave. I’m having friends over, and they don’t need to see me fighting with you.”

“So I’m just some inconvenience to you? In your fucking white picket fence bullshit?”

Jack guided him towards the door. “Goodbye, Gabriel.” The door slammed in his face.

\--

Not sure of what else to do, he slunk away from the house, going back to his shitty motel. As he trudged along the street, seeing this quaint neighborhood that really did look like some suburban mom’s dream, he wanted to be angry. Pissed off, with his wounded pride. But really, he just felt hopeless. _You really fucked up this time, Gabriel._

With Jack, he thought he always had someone he could rely on. Someone to go back to when things got rough. But he didn’t have that anymore. Without it, what else did he have? He estranged all of his old friends a long time ago. In Talon he was busy brooding and lashing out all the time, so nobody there liked him either. Sombra was the only thing he had close to a friend, and he couldn’t find her most of the time. By all accounts, he was alone. That was what he wanted, right? For everyone to go away and leave him alone.

Looks like that might not have been such a good thing after all.

Maybe Jack would forgive him. But more than anger, he got the sense that Jack just wasn’t interested anymore. And that hurt worse. Mostly because that was way harder to fix than just being pissed off at someone. Would they ever be friends again? Not even necessarily as close as they used to be, but even just having fun together?

_Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you shot him._ He hated when the voice in his head was right.

He tried to never look back from what he did. Regret was a useless emotion.

But he was a useless person.

\--

After brooding for a while, Gabriel had come to a decision: he wasn’t going to give up so easily. Whatever he had to do, he didn’t want to live the rest of his life without Jack.

He could admit it to himself that maybe his apology wasn’t the most convincing. In his head, it seemed like he was making a sincere statement, but the more he thought about it, the less meaningful it seemed. So, he started to think about a better idea. He searched around the room for some kind of offering he could give Jack, something to show he wasn’t only interested in himself. He knew that Jack wasn’t a particularly materialistic person, and he didn’t have that much money anyway, so that left him with few options.

As he walked into the motel closet, he accidentally kicked something. After cursing for a few moments (with all of the pain he’d been in, he thought stubbing his toe would stop hurting, but he was always wrong), he looked down and saw what he had hit: his old guitar. He carried it with him now mostly for sentimental value, but he still knew how to play. Hopefully.

Playing guitar for someone was something very special to Gabriel. He had only done it for three people in the past: his mother, his ex-wife, and Jack. Perfect.

An unhappy thought came to his mind: he wondered if Jack would even let him into his house to play. Considering how his last venture in that house had gone, and his own paranoia that Jack’s new boyfriend might show up, he decided it would be better to try to plan something outside of the house and use a recording.

Which meant he would have to ask Jack to meet him.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his phone and scrolled to Jack’s number. He hoped Jack didn’t ask how he still had it, because the amount of searching he did for that number since he decided to contact Jack again might amount to stalking.

He hovered over the “Call” button, but chickened out quickly and decided that a text would be better. _When did I become such a pussy?_ He thought with disgust.

Eventually, after a large amount of preparation and cursing himself, he sent the text. He knew he was going to obsess over the words he used, so he decided to just use the most basic ones he could think of. Let the apology speak for itself, right?

_Hey_

_Can we meet somewhere?_

Was that too forward? Should he have apologized again? What if he got the number wrong? Shit, this was such a bad idea—

_The Green Turtle 6:00pm_

The knot in his stomach faded. One last chance.

Now, what song to use?

\--

With the recording on his phone, the time 5:30PM, and the reservations at the restaurant made, Gabriel had a spring in his step as he walked across the street. This was going to work. It had to.

A dreary fog over the suburban town left everything feeling damp. The chill in the air led Gabriel to wear his hoodie, but didn’t seem to chase people off from roaming the streets. Many of them had umbrellas in their hands even though it wasn’t raining yet. He supposed they were more careful than he was.

Maybe he should’ve been careful, too, because when the rain started, it came down _hard_. He felt it seep through the fabric of his hoodie. “Shit.” He cursed aloud as he ran underneath the extended roof of the local library. Luckily, the phone’s case was waterproof, but he sure as hell wasn’t. It took him a moment to notice the smoke running along his body. The surprise must have aggravated his instability.

“Please don’t hurt me.” He noticed a nearby woman fall to her knees and beg. Too late, he realized that the black hoodie and smoke combination made it very obvious who he was.

“Uh ma’am, you’re fine,” he tried to assure her, “I don’t want to—”

“Hey!” A police officer was shoving a few people out of the way and making a beeline towards him while he talked into his walkie-talkie. Fuck.

There was no way he could take care of this guy without making a huge scene, and by the sound of sirens nearby, he probably wouldn’t be the only one, either. So, he did the only thing he could: he ran. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck…” He repeated over and over, shoving people out of the way, hopefully not injuring any of them too badly.

The policeman chased him for at least 10 blocks, with other officers joining in alongside him over time, before Gabriel ducked into an alleyway. His enhanced strength had allowed him to lose the guy by now, and he hoped that was the end of it. For some security, he put the hood down on his now soaking-wet hoodie, causing the rain to hit his scalp directly. The smoke hadn’t stopped, either; in fact, the instability only seemed to grow worse in response to the situation.

He checked his phone.

6:12pm.

Fuck.

_He is going to fucking kill me. No way he’ll ever forgive me now. What if he left already?_ These thoughts harassed him as he ran in the direction of the restaurant, thankfully not the same direction that he had come from. _God, if I fucked this up_ \- 

When he ran to the restaurant, he saw Jack sitting at the bar.

Pushing the host out of the way, he ran to the bar and blurted out “Look, I’m sorry, okay?! I came all the way here, got rained on, ran from the cops, all because I’m sorry and I want you to forgive me. And I know I’m a shitty friend and a shitty person but I need you. We don’t need to be best friends anymore, I just don’t want you to hate me forever.” He looked down. “I miss you, Jack.”

“What the hell are you talking abou—”

Before Jack could finish his sentence, Gabriel noticed a policewoman talking to the host, then heading towards the bar.

Without thinking, Gabriel ran out the back door, and didn’t notice he had dropped the phone.

\--

_What the hell is wrong with him?_ Jack thought. He had actually been about to give up and walk out, thinking he had just wasted his time. Now he was just confused.

After Gabriel blurred past him, a police officer following, Jack looked down and saw he had dropped his phone. Strange. He usually took the holo pad places instead of the phone nowadays.

Maybe it’d be impolite to snoop on Gabriel’s things, but his curiosity got the better of him. He really shouldn’t have used the same passcode for so many years. After unlocking the phone, he noticed it was open to a file titled “Jack song”. Huh?

At least this one had his name on it, so it was a little less intrusive of him to look through it. Or at least that’s what he told himself as he put his headphones on and pressed play. He instantly recognized the sound of Gabriel’s singing, a soothing baritone paired with the soft guitar playing. Damn, the man could still be charming.

_I don’t know why I did the things I did_

_I don’t know why I said the things I said_

This song brought back memories of Jack sheepishly telling Gabriel how much he loved it and about his obsession with Cher.

_Pride’s like a knife, it can cut deep inside_

_Words are like weapons, they wound sometimes._

_I didn’t really mean to hurt you, I didn’t wanna see you go_

_I know made you cry, but baby_

“ _If I could turn back time_ …” Jack hummed along. “ _If I could find a way. I’d take back those words that hurt you, and you’d stay_.”

Hearing Gabriel’s soft rendition of this gave him the same feeling as when he heard the original version for the first time. The feeling of having a song strike such a deep chord in you and feeling an instant connection to it. Gabriel hadn’t sung to him in years, maybe over a decade at this point.

_If I could reach the stars_

_I’d give them all to you_

_Then you’d love me, love me_

_Like you used to do._

As the song continued, Jack closed his eyes and sung along, enjoying the dips in the man’s voice reflecting the emotion he felt.

Right as the song ended, he made sure he had the number to Gabriel’s holo pad.

_You left your phone_

_Won’t be late again if we meet at the coffee shop near my house tomorrow at 2, right?_

Hopefully Gabriel took the hint. “Welcome back, Gabe.” He smiled as he looked at the trail of water Gabriel had left.

Always had to make an impression wherever he went.


	2. chapter 2

Their next meeting was significantly less of a disaster than the first one.

It was a bit awkward at first. With so many things having happened, and so many emotions left behind, it almost felt like there was too much to talk about. But they found their rhythm pretty quickly, progressing into the same types of jokes they made towards each other before. The instant re-connection they had reminded him of hitting it off with him for the first time. Now the two of them just had far more stories to tell.

“So I told Ana that, and she just put my ass to sleep right there.” Both of them laughed. A couple glared at them for making so much noise. Gabriel considered flipping them off, but restrained himself (for once).

After their laughter died down a bit, Gabriel said “What’s she doing nowadays, anyway?”

“Lives pretty close to here. Told me she had to stay near me to keep me from doing anything stupid.”

“Oh, trust me, no one could stop that.” Gabriel grinned at him. It felt nice to be able to prod him like this again. He always did love annoying him.

“Fuck off.” Jack rolled his eyes. He paused for a moment. “She’ll be happy we made up. You should visit her sometime.” He took a sip of his hot chocolate.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “You think she’ll have me?”

“Well, I did, and you didn’t shoot her.”

Gabriel considered hitting him for that, but wasn’t sure if they were on that level yet. “Smartass.” Jack laughed.

While their conversation continued, a man walked towards them. He was young, probably somewhere in his 20s, and conventionally attractive; slim, dark hair, clear skin, the works. Too thin for Gabriel, though. He just found skin and bones boring.

“Hey, Jack.” The man leaned against their table. “Who’s this?” He asked. Gabriel swore he could feel a bit of hostility there, but maybe he was just imagining it.

“Hey!” Jack lit up. “This is Gabriel. He’s an old friend.”

“I am not that old.”

“Yes, you are.” He looked up at the young man again. “Gabe, this is Milton. He’s my boyfriend.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. _This is him?!_ A part of him wanted to blurt out something like ‘he’s half your age’ or ‘this guy? Really?’, but that would definitely be overstepping his boundaries at the moment. Instead, with every ounce of restraint he had, he managed to simply say “Oh. Looks different than I thought he would.”, trying not to sound as incredulous as he felt.

Milton laughed. “Yeah, we get that a lot.” He took his hand off their table. “My friends are waiting for me. I just wanted to say hi. Have fun with your friend.” Something about this man’s voice gave Gabriel chills. It felt like he was talking to a snake. Oh no, he did not like this guy. He was grateful when he walked away.

The minute he was out of earshot, Gabriel instantly turned to Jack. “That’s the guy? He’s basically a kid!”

“How did I know you’d say that?” He shook his head. “Age doesn’t matter to me, as long as he treats me right. Only been a few months, but I really like being with him.” _Can’t understand why._ Gabriel was really not enjoying this whole ‘showing restraint’ thing, but just this once, he’d do it for Jack. He could chastise him later when things would feel more normal. Although, it barely felt any different than before now. Sure, some of the intimacy of their relationship had faded with time, but he felt hopeful that it could return with how well their interactions were going. Being with him just felt natural, like they belonged together.

Forcing a smile, he said “And if he doesn’t treat you right, I’ll kick his ass.” Ugh, that was painful.

The conversation flowed normally after that, but he couldn’t get that guy off his mind. Maybe he was just jealous. But he considered himself a pretty good judge of character, and there was something off about that guy from the moment they spoke. His intuition wasn’t always right (considering his history with a certain mad scientist woman), but he had been correct many more times than he had been wrong.

After about another hour, Jack had to leave. The two of them set up another meeting for tomorrow, this time at the park. As he watched Jack walk away, he wondered if he should’ve taken the risk and spoken up.

Maybe tomorrow.

\--  
It did not happen tomorrow.

He continued to hold back, somehow. After seeing him a few more times, Gabriel was completely sure that he did not like Milton at all. The thing that pissed him off most was how rude he would sometimes be towards Jack. Only Gabriel was allowed to do that. The way he would roll his eyes and groan at things Jack said made Gabriel want to punch him in the face.

About a month after he met Milton for the first time, he was nearing his breaking point. He and Milton sat in the living room of Jack’s house, neither saying anything to each other. At this point, he was pretty sure that Milton didn’t like him either. Maybe he should’ve been a bit less hostile.

Interrupting this thought, he saw Jack walk downstairs wearing a gaudy blue shirt with a giant star pattern in the center, complete with pants that didn’t match. He made a mental note to give Jack a fashion lesson soon.

Milton seemed to feel the same way, because he said “Honey, that really doesn’t flatter you.”

“What, really? Thought it looked fine.” How he thought that was a mystery to Gabriel.

“It makes you look really old. It’s ugly.” When Milton said that, Jack’s face fell a bit. “I’m just being honest.”

“Yeah.” Jack laughed, but it was very obviously forced. Gabriel had known Jack for long enough that he knew the signs of when something actually hurt him, even though he wouldn’t say it out loud.  
Milton shook his head. “I have to go. I’m going to meet my friend. See you later, dear!” The two waved at each other.

As soon as the door closed, Gabriel tapped Jack’s shoulder. “Jack, we need to talk.”

Jack seemed to know what he was going to say. “He’s not usually like that.”

“Bullshit. I’ve seen him be rude to you over and over.” Gabriel shook his head. “Why are you even with him when he makes you feel like that?”

Jack looked away. “He’s nice when we’re alone.”

He used his newfound restraint to not raise his voice. He’d praise himself for that later. “Stop making excuses for him.”

Jack paused for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. “Don’t exactly have a lot of options, Gabe.”

“Doesn’t mean you should settle for someone who treats you like shit.” Gabriel was trying very hard not to let his frustration show. How can Jack just let this guy walk all over him like that?

Jack’s voice lowered to a near whisper. “I’m old. Don’t have much more time to find someone. Just don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life.” 

“Plenty of guys have gone after you.” Jack had never been quite as popular with guys as Gabriel was (not having the bad boy appeal, he supposed), but he still had suitors, and Gabriel had always just assumed that his power intimidated people. Now that he wasn’t commander anymore, he was shocked he wasn’t swamped with men.

“When I still looked good. Nobody does anymore.” He paused. “Dating someone like him makes me feel young again. Like someone hot would be interested in me.” He looked down. “Kind of pathetic, I know.”

A pang of sympathy went through him. Part of him wanted to tell Jack every one of his positive qualities, and how everyone who wouldn’t like him is a dumbass, but he was afraid to. _I’m such a coward._ Instead, he said “No, I get it. But that doesn’t mean you can just let him do that to you.” He put his hands on Jack’s shoulders. “Promise me you’ll try to stand up for yourself more, OK?”

“Yeah. I will.” He managed a smile. “Thanks. For looking out for me.”

“Always been my job to keep you from doing stupid shit.” 

They hung out for a while afterwards. Even though Jack seemed to feel at least somewhat better by the end of it, Gabriel still wished he had told him everything he deserved to hear.

\--

“Hey. Let’s do something fun tomorrow.” Jack said while he and Gabriel were at the park.

“What, this isn’t fun to you? I’m hurt.” Gabriel feigned sadness.

“Shut up.” Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m meeting Lena at the beach east of town, and I want you to come with.”

He grimaced as he remembered his last experience with water. Still, it sounded like fun. Like a mini-vacation. “Okay. Sure.”

Jack grinned. “Great. Meet me back here at 9 tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to get up that early.” Gabriel whined.

“Too bad. It won’t kill you. And you’re already dead, anyway.” He laughed at his own joke.

“Fuck you.”

\--

After they pulled into the parking lot of the waterfront, the two of them opened their doors and stepped onto the hot pavement. They had taken the same car because it was better for the Earth, and _definitely_ not just because they wanted to spend more time together.

Jack wore a not-flattering pair of swim trunks that were way too short. Gabriel didn’t know if that made him turned on or embarrassed.

Wait. Turned on?

“Hey! Dad!” He heard a woman’s voice from far away. Wow, she was loud. She ran up to them at what seemed like breakneck speed.

“Lena!” She and Jack hugged. “Hey, kiddo!”

She cocked her head to the side and looked at Gabriel for a moment, then shrugged. Smiling, she said “Hiya!”

“I know you might not like me,” he started, having mentally prepared himself for her negative reaction, “but I promise I’m—”

She waved her hand. “All in the past, right?” She nodded. “Dad told me you were coming. If he trusts you, I can give you a chance, too.”

He wouldn’t tell her, but it was nice to not be judged for once.

The three of them walked along the boardwalk, taking in the sights of the beach. It had numerous attractions besides the beach itself, like a ferris wheel, many shops, and live music.

Jack and Lena obviously enjoyed each other’s company a lot. She talked a mile a minute and was always bubbly and laughing, which seemed to bring out much more positivity in Jack as well. He remembered Jack saying he had always wanted kids. To Gabriel, this showed that he really would have been a good dad.

Their spirit was contagious enough that even he felt a bit more positive than usual. Just a bit.

“Yeah, Lena’s a bigshot at Overwatch now.” Jack said, as they sat on beach towels and ate ice cream they had gotten from a local shop. “Much better at dealing with the UN than we were.”

“Aw, come on, Dad.” Lena said. “You were great with them!”

“Hey, what about me?” Gabriel interjected.

Lena paused. “Uh…you were…very convincing!”

“Only for the ones that were scared he’d beat them up.”

Gabriel shook his head. “That hurts, Jack. And I only threatened the ones that deserved it.”

“So all of them?” Jack asked.

“You know it.”

“They aren’t so bad, love. You just have to know how to tell them to sod off without them knowing.” Lena winked.

“See, she gets it.” Jack said. “I remember I hated the guy from Romania, so every time he talked I would pretend I couldn’t hear him. Then when he yelled in my ear I would go—” he flashed his ‘condescending leader’ smile—“Oh, hi. Are you the janitor?”

Lena laughed. “I need to try that!”

“And you guys say I’m an asshole.” Gabriel said, finishing his ice cream and making sure no drops of it got in his beard.

Jack grunted. “Pretty sure neither of us shot anyone.”

Lena laughed again. Her laugh was surprisingly booming coming from such a small girl. Something about her constantly high spirits managed to charm him. If she had even a bit less joy, it would probably just be annoying. Maybe that’s what made Jack so attached to her. If he had to rely on anyone to make Jack feel less down on himself, she would definitely be a good candidate. He made a mental note to make sure they kept seeing each other as often as possible.

“Just messing around, though.” Jack said, clearly watching his language around her. Gabriel had made no effort to do that at all. Whoops. “Gabe is nice when he wants to be. Wouldn’t hang around him if he wasn’t.”

“You’re OK too, I guess.” Gabriel said, trying to play off how unusually flattered he felt at that statement. “Good at making a day better.” _Don’t be fucking corny, Gabriel._

“Oh. Uh…thanks.” Jack smiled at him, and Gabriel caught himself staring a bit too long into his eyes. Their color matched well with the ocean beside them, somehow capturing his attention even more than the water.

_Thump. Thump._

As he stared at Jack’s smile (and swore he saw him blushing a bit), one that seemed to light up his whole face, he felt his heart starting to pound in his chest.

_Fuck._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> consistent update schedule? idk her

Jack and Gabriel walked through the downtown area. Now that he had lived here for a while, it was starting to have its own familiar charm. It was nice to be able to recognize the small shops, even though he didn’t go in them.

“You really carry an umbrella with you every time you go out here now?” Jack asked.

“Fuck yeah I do. I’m not getting the cops on my ass again.” He held the bag he carried the umbrella in tightly against his shoulder. It was so not a purse, no matter what Jack said.

“You could always have just not committed the crimes in the first place.” Jack put his hands behind his head, clearly enjoying the bright sunlight and cool breeze.

“Now you’re a smartass and a hypocrite.”

“Touche.”

They came upon a small store. Gabriel froze.

“They sell nice hats here.” Jack said. His standards of ‘nice’ were probably other people’s standards of ‘stupid’, but that wasn’t his primary concern right now. He stored that smartass comment to use later.

“Jack, I can’t go in there.”

Jack cocked his head to the side. “Why not?”

Gabriel sighed. “Look, you wouldn’t get it.”

“I can try.” Ugh, he was so stubborn.

“...Look at my face.” He pointed to one of the scars on his face, and took his sunglasses off to reveal his red eyes. “Look at this.” He gestured towards the smoke starting to come out his arm. “I’m a freak.”

“But you go other places all the time.”

He shook his head. “Here’s the thing. In Wal-Mart or some shit, nobody is going to remember what you look like. They don’t care. But these little hometown shops? They care. These people will remember the monster that came in that day. They’ll tell everyone else, too.” He looked away. “Forget it. I’m gonna go.”

“Gabe, wait. I’m gonna help you.” He put his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “You’re gonna face your fear. You can’t live that way.”

“I’m fine.”

“Shut up with your damn pride and come on.” 

Even if it was kind of annoying, he did appreciate the effort. Right as he was starting to consider just leaving, Jack pulled him into the store by the arm. 

As he was pulled inside, Gabriel tried to hide his face with his hands. Jack grabbed his hand. “Gabe, I know you have the balls to face this. You’re stronger than anyone else I know.”

“I won’t do what you want just because you compliment me.” He pouted. God, it was so annoying how supportive and helpful Jack was.

It was too late, though; the employees at the counter had seen them. Instinctively, Gabriel turned around to face them, then realized they could see him. He instantly felt exposed. Shit. Was he shaking? 

“Hi.” He tried to wave, but his hand felt heavy.

“Hello, sir. Do you want to try something on?”

“Uh, no, just looking.” He said, not meeting their eyes. Maybe he’d be able to do that someday.

“Just tell us if you need anything, then!” The woman at the counter said, with the familiar ‘retail smile’ of an employee who was thinking about going home. No sign of judgment. She was busy with her own life and not worrying about him at all one way or another.

Looking through the aisles, he saw a hat that said “ _PUSSY DESTROYER_ ” and burst out laughing. Oh yes, he had a perfect idea. Which would require him to go up to the counter. It took a moment for him to muster up the courage, but the joke was worth it.

“I’d like to buy this one.”

After they exited the shop, Jack beamed at him. “Saw you going up to the counter. Knew you could do it. I’m proud of you.” Something that sweet almost made him hesitate with what he was about to do. Almost. “What’d you get, anyway?” 

Gabriel took the hat out of its bag. Jack saw it and spit out the Coke he’d been drinking. “It’s for you.” He put it on Jack’s head, who burst out laughing. 

“Get that shit off me!” He tried to smack Gabriel’s hand away, who dodged it and laughed as Jack nearly toppled over. As they continued their horseplay, a kid who couldn’t be older than 19 walked towards them and froze in place. Gabriel looked over and saw him staring at Jack in awe, mouth wide open. Oh God, here we go.

“Are you Jack Morrison? The real one?”

Jack was clearly uncomfortable, fidgeting in place. “Yeah. It’s me.”

“Cool!” God, could this kid be any louder? Evidently others thought so as well, because they started staring and talking amongst themselves. Jack seemed to be frozen. He recalled Jack saying he had started hating this kind of attention ever since Overwatch fell, and Gabriel suspected that it was to the point of full-on fear.

Gabriel knew what he had to do. He grabbed Jack’s arm and tried to ignore how close they were to holding hands. “Jack left something in the oven. He has to go. C’mon.” He pulled Jack forward as quickly as he could, the other man still not moving on his own.

After they had gotten a safe distance from the rapidly disbanding crowd, Gabriel looked over at Jack, whose breathing sounded ragged. “You OK?”

Jack nodded. “Sorry about that.”

“Does that happen a lot now?”

He sighed. “Yeah, sometimes. Just hate them all looking at me. Feel like they’re judging me, just thinking about how I’m some war criminal.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I can help keep them away.”

“Kinda thought you’d just think I’m a pussy.”

“What?” Gabriel shook his head, and couldn’t help feeling a bit offended. “Jack, I care how you feel. I wouldn’t call you a fucking pussy.”

Jack paused for a moment, as if he was still trying to absorb that statement, and Gabriel noticed him blushing a bit as he scratched the back of his head. “Thanks for saving my ass.” He smiled, avoiding his eye. “Sure as hell not the first time.”

“No problem. Can be your bodyguard anytime.” He grinned at Jack. “Now wear your hat.”

“I am not wearing that.”

“I spent my money on you, and you don’t even care.” He pretended to cry. “You’re mean.”

He grunted. “Settle down over there.” 

As they continued to walk towards Jack’s house, Gabriel patted Jack on the back, and couldn’t help but feel a bit excited about their future.

\--

“See ya.” Gabriel said, nodding as Jack walked away from his motel (he called it “Motel Shithole”). He closed the door behind him as quickly as possible, feeling a sensation in his pants that threatened to make things awkward very quickly if they hadn’t separated when they did.

The two of them had worked out together at the gym. Seeing Jack lifting barbells in that undershirt that clung to his muscles made Gabriel way too excited. The feeling built up until he abruptly lied and said he was too tired to continue and that he needed to leave.

Entering his room, he looked around as if someone would go to the effort of following him, then rushed to the bathroom.

As he felt the bulge in his pants increase in size, he unbuttoned them and let his dick push out. When he removed both his pants and his boxers in one swift motion, it leaned against his stomach, already fully hard.

Gabriel moved his hands to his cock and rubbed it a single time, sending a shiver running down his spine. He didn’t have to focus at all - the thoughts of Jack’s pulsing biceps rushed at him immediately. The memory of the sweat running down Jack’s muscles helped him establish a rhythm on his dick, as he bucked his hips into his own hand.

Starting his fantasy, he thought about straddling Jack on the bench he had been using and pulling his pants off. Jack would moan as Gabriel rubbed his cock through his underwear, quickly taking them off as well and grabbing onto his hips. Sweat started dripping down his forehead as he pictured himself unbuttoning his pants and lowering his underwear until his dick hung out. His motions increased in speed, thinking about pushing his cock inside of Jack and the cute little squeaks he made during the time they experimented with each other, all those years ago.

“Ugh, Jackie, you’re so fucking tight…” He mumbled aloud, thinking of trying to get his cock as deep inside of Jack as he could, and feeling his hole close around his dick.

Right in the middle of that gym, he would hold Jack down and thrust all the way inside, balls brushing against Jack’s ass with every thrust. Gabriel panted as he thought of Jack completely at his mercy as he begged for more.

In his fantasy, Jack begged for him to come inside, which was what pushed him over the edge. Gabriel shot right past his hand and came all over the floor.

Gabriel leaned back and tried to catch his breath. _That was so wrong_. But he couldn’t help himself. The desire he had for Jack had been building up to a boiling point, and he had to express it somehow.

This was becoming a problem.

\--

Gabriel walked through town, on his way to get some cake mix. He had challenged Jack to help him cook the next day. Jack was always such a shit cook that it would probably be a disaster, but that was what made it fun, right? The mocking would be legendary. He couldn’t wait.

On his way past a restaurant, he noticed Milton in the outside seating area with three other people. Ugh. He was briefly tempted to greet him, until he realized that he might try to have an extended conversation, which would be entirely unpleasant. Instead, he decided to listen, keeping himself out of sight. It wasn’t eavesdropping, was it? He was just being polite and not interrupting their conversation. Obviously.

One of his friends put his drink down. “So, how’s your sugar daddy?”

Gabriel froze. _His what now?_

“He’s fine. He bought me this watch the other day,” Milton said, gesturing towards his wrist. Gabriel recalled a conversation he had with Jack about that very watch.

_“You got him that? Isn’t it really fucking expensive?”_

_“Gonna pamper him. Thank him for everything, you know?”_

At the time, Gabriel had suspected there was another reason, and remembered the next thing Jack said.

_“Gotta keep him around somehow, right?”_

Gabriel had thought that was a joke, but now he realized it probably wasn’t. He returned his attention to the conversation.

“Damn, dude.”

“Yeah, he’s really desperate. Man, he thinks we’re really a thing. Like I’d be fucking in love with some weird old man. I’d feel kinda bad if he wasn’t giving me all this free shit.” Everyone at the table laughed, while Gabriel balled his hands into fists.

“You gonna tell him?” His friend asked.

Milton shook his head. “Hell no. This dude could kick my ass. And this is a sweet deal. I’ll take advantage as long as I can, and if he starts anything, we can send Kaz after him.”

“You could get your ass kicked by an old man?” 

The people at the table laughed again, as Gabriel considered walking to the table and punching Milton in the face. But if he did that, Jack would never forgive him. Would Jack even believe him if he told? He would probably just look jealous, right when they were finally friends again. But he couldn’t just let this asshole take advantage of him.

Motherfucker.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah for real don't expect a consistent update schedule for this or any other fic i write LOL

Gabriel had spent all of that night agonizing over whether or not he should tell Jack what he heard outside of that restaurant. What kind of asshole would he look like, just forcing his way back into Jack’s life and telling him that his relationship was actually a lie?

That morning, though, he decided: he would keep it to himself for now. Good timing on the decision, too, because he was going to spend time with Jack that day. Jack had suggested they go to an arcade. Gabriel sometimes wondered if Jack was actually 12 years old.

When he arrived at Jack’s house to pick him up, he noticed a second car in the driveway. Milton. Ugh.

After Jack opened the door for him, he said “Oh yeah. Milton wanted to talk to you about something.”

_Favorite methods of extortion? Asking me the best way to steal from an orphanage?_ He kept these comments to himself, even though he knew they’d be hilarious. “Where’d he go?” Jack pointed at the patio.

Walking outside, he saw Milton leaning on a railing. He turned to face Gabriel, who was confused at the way Milton’s expression changed upon seeing him from a (seemingly) happy one to one of distaste. Tension showed in the tightening of his shoulders.

“Do you not like me, Gabriel?” Milton asked abruptly, and Gabriel was pretty sure he was trying to be intimidating. Cute.

“No. Never did. Think you’re a snake.” Maybe he’d have some restraint around Jack, but he wasn’t going to mince words when he was asked a direct question one-on-one. 

“Oh, really? I think your friend really likes me.” Gabriel noticed him not even calling Jack by name.

“I know what you want from him. Your ‘sugar daddy’.” He said, using his most malicious sneer.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Gabriel ignored him. “You’re gonna leave now and not come back.” He tried to remember what he had been thinking before about not potentially putting Jack off, but all he could really consider right now was how much he hated the insufferable prick standing near him.

“Or what?” Milton glared at him, still trying to have some sort of intimidating posture. Well, Gabriel never backed down from a challenge…

“Or I’ll do something worse than this.” Gabriel rapidly closed the distance between them and punched Milton in the stomach. Milton was completely caught off guard by his enhanced strength and backed into a nearby tree, gagging. 

“Shit!” He tried to catch his breath. “You’re gonna regret that.” 

Actually, he kind of already did. But it felt so, _so_ good. 

Gabriel turned away. “I’m gonna go have fun with Jack. When I get back, your ass better be gone. You understand me?” He didn’t give Milton a chance to respond. “Good.” With that, he walked back inside the house. Although he kept his stance as confident as possible while Milton could see him, internally he was wondering if he had just fucked over his chance with his only friend.

“What was that about?” Jack asked when he saw Gabriel.

“Just clearing some things up. C’mon. Let’s go play your dumb games.”

\--

The entire day had been incredibly fun, as he realized he was far more competitive with the arcade games than he had expected. The two of them spent the entire day trying to outdo each other in rhythm games, and had even drawn a small crowd that watched their intense competition. OK, maybe he was 12 years old too.

Unfortunately, after he had made it back to his motel, he remembered what deep shit he was in.

He didn’t know if Milton had seen Jack yet and told him. Gabriel didn’t want to ruin their day by telling it to Jack himself, which he now cursed himself for; that asshole would do anything he could to make him look like the bad guy. It wasn’t so much that he felt guilty for what he had done (really, he was pretty proud of it, and the asshole was lucky he didn’t kill him), but more that was worried about the repercussions. 

Suddenly, his door slammed open, and a large man came in, brandishing a gun. While he had seen way too many big guys in his life to be impressed easily, this man was still much bigger than some guy on the street. Some kind of expert.

“The fuck?!” He said. The man pointed the gun at him. 

Big mistake.

In a quick motion, Gabriel grabbed his own shotguns from beside his bed (he slept with his guns next to his bed, even though Jack said it made him look like a “nutcase”) and shot into the man’s head. He was dead instantly. _Still got it._

Inspecting the man’s body to try to understand what the hell just happened, he opened the man’s holo pad (hey, dead guys don’t need privacy) and noticed a conversation titled “Client”. The first message said “ _thanks kaz_ ”

‘ _If he starts anything, we can send Kaz after him._ ’ 

Oh, so that’s how this fucker wanted to play?

Gabriel responded to the number with his own text.

_Hey. Your worst nightmare here. Whoever this guy is, he’s dead. If I see you near Jack again, you will be too._

He promptly broke the holo pad’s screen, then cursed his own impulsiveness as he realized he could’ve used that as evidence.

Oh yeah. Evidence.

Well, if there was one thing Gabriel was an expert at, it was hiding a body.

\--

Yet again, Gabriel was at a crossroads of whether to tell Jack what had happened. Eventually, he decided that it would be better for his safety if he told him the truth. Not that Jack couldn’t take care of himself, but he’d rather not let Mr. Extortion have any power over him, especially since this meant he probably had ties in some ugly places.

That was how he ended up inviting Jack over to his house for ‘lunch’. Jack entered his motel, and he started to prepare for what to say.

_OK. Gotta be strategic here. Think carefully of how to put this._

“Someone tried to kill me last night.” He blurted out. _Or do that, I guess. Dumbass._

“What? You serious?” Jack said, staring at him. “Did you piss someone off again?”

_Well_ …”Kind of.” He paused, trying to think of the best way to say this, then realized Jack was still waiting for an answer. “Jack, I need to tell you something.” He took a deep breath. “Milton is manipulating you.” Jack looked at him quizzically. Before Jack could respond, he said “I know what it sounds like. But I’m not lying. He just wants you as a sugar daddy.”

“The hell is that?” Jack said.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. What a naive old man. “Money. He likes when you buy him shit.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“No. Overheard him talking to some of his friends. Look, I know I sound like an asshole--”

“No, keep talking. Tell me everything.” Jack said, sounding much more serious than a few moments ago.

That gave him a bit of hope. Maybe he was getting somewhere? “Alright. Told Milton I know he’s using you. Might have kinda punched him in the stomach. Sorry.” He scratched the back of his head. "I checked the guy's phone, and he was the one who sent him after me. Guy tried to kill me, but I got him first. Dumbass.” 

Jack paused, looking down at the floor, as Gabriel realized he probably didn’t believe him, and that this might destroy his only friendship (with the guy he really wants to fuck, no less)--

“I believe you.”

Wait. “Really?” Gabriel said, trying not to sound too dumbfounded.

“Yeah. Was kinda suspicious myself, with how he kept asking me for shit, but I didn’t want to believe it.” He sighed. “But I trust you. More than anyone. I know you wouldn’t lie to me about that.”

Gabriel blushed a bit. “Thanks. I promise I wouldn’t." While his heart swelled at the thought of Jack trusting him as much as he used to, statements like that still reminded him of something he hadn't been able to get off his mind. "And see, I didn’t call you a pussy.” He said, trying to keep a bit of bitterness out of his voice. He couldn’t deny that it stung a bit every time he thought about what Jack had said that day.

“You really were mad about that?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, kinda.” He said, frowning. “I’m not some fucking asshole who doesn’t have any empathy for you.”

Jack looked away for a moment. “You’re right. Sorry.” He looked back up, blue eyes directly meeting Gabriel’s. God, those were so pretty. Was there a such thing as an eye model?

Something stirred inside of Gabriel. A voice in his head surging louder, saying _kiss him, tell him how you feel_ over and over. He pushed it down as far as he could, and forced a smile. “It’s fine.” 

“You think I should go talk to Milton myself?”

_He’s leaving. Find a reason to keep him here._ He really wished that voice would shut up. “No, we should stay together. Safer that way.”

Jack started to say something, then closed his mouth and nodded. “Sucks we have to stay in this garbage place.”

“Excuse you, Motel Shithole is my home.”

_Maybe I’ll tell him tomorrow._


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Gabriel woke up from a restless sleep, having spent most of the night thinking about his feelings for Jack, and the fact that he was in the same room, so tantalizingly close. If the bed hadn’t been so small, he might have asked Jack to sleep in it with him that night. Although, it would’ve been very hard to explain if he had gotten an awkward erection during the night. Jack opted for the couch instead.

He didn’t know why he didn’t just have the balls to tell him. Granted, Jack was his only friend at the moment, and ‘I want to fuck you’ ( _or something more_ , the annoying voice in his head insisted) was always a big bomb to drop to your best friend (were they best friends again yet?). 

He needed advice. Leaving now was probably irresponsible, because they needed to plan what course of action they would take when Milton and whoever his connections were inevitably retaliated, but this was urgent. He felt like his friendship with Jack relied on it. _Or your chance for something more._ Ugh, how could he get that thing to go away?

It was clear to him immediately who he needed to talk to. Had she forgiven him? Would she turn him away? Oh well, it was worth a shot.

“Need to go out for a bit.” He said as he passed by Jack, who was on the couch, staring at the TV. At least since Gabriel had woken up, he had seemed lost in thought, probably contemplating his relationship with Milton. He hoped this wasn’t hurting him too much.

“Yeah, might go home now.” Jack said, stretching his back. He heard a popping sound. Old man. 

“I’ll meet you there.” He saw his opportunity. “Can I crash at your place for a while? Might not be safe here.” Obviously, he could take care of himself, but this excuse was the best one he had. He spent as much time with Jack as possible in hopes that he would eventually get up the courage to actually tell him, trying to keep the opportunity constantly open, but it never ended up happening.

Jack grunted. “Sure. See you there.” Gabriel noticed that the tension he usually carried seemed to ease a bit, which he had learned long ago was the telltale sign that Jack was happy. One of those things you pick up on when you know someone for as long as they have. 

Gabriel waved as he left, trying to quell the thoughts of how he wanted to make Jack feel like that all the time.

\--

Gabriel knocked on the door. If Ana was surprised to see him, she didn’t show it.

“You could’ve announced you were coming. I might have had some coffee ready for you.”

As she opened the door, Gabriel rushed inside as quickly as he could. He realized then that the best way to earn someone’s forgiveness was probably not to barge into their house. Hopefully she didn’t mind. “I need your help with something.”

“Hello to you too.” She smiled at him, her familiar ‘you were just rude to me’ smile that always managed to make him feel guilty.

He missed her.

“Oh. Hey. Long time no see. How are you?” He said, trying to recover from his bad initial impression.

She chuckled. “Welcome back, Gabriel. What did you need help with?”

He always liked the way she could skip pleasantries. Straight to the point. Exactly the way it should be. Continuing with his idea of not wasting any time, he said “I think I have a thing for Jack.”

“Oh, really? What a surprise.” She said, sarcasm dripping from every word. She smiled at him again, but this time it wasn’t passive aggressive. “Come sit down.”

Gabriel sat down on a loveseat, while Ana sat on the couch nearby. The decorations in her house were much more pleasant to the eye than his or Jack’s, with paintings on the walls and several accessories that he was sure were more valuable than his life, including the vase next to him. He avoided touching it like the plague, as if it would shatter just from being exposed to his hands. However, he was sure that she valued the pictures scattered around the room more than the vase. He noticed one of him giving a young Fareeha a piggyback ride. Good times.

“I don’t know how to make the feeling go away.” Gabriel said. “Don’t want to ruin it when we just got to being friends again.” He grimaced at the thought of being rejected again the same way he had when he first came back.

“I think you should be honest with how you feel.” She nodded. “I know that’s not your strong suit, but this will just keep eating at you. And who knows, maybe he feels the same way.” She sipped some tea.

“He has a boyfriend.” Gabriel wondered if he would still have a boyfriend the next time he talked to Milton, but that was just speculation. “An asshole one, but still a boyfriend.”

“Oh yes, he’s told me about him. Milton, right?” He noticed a frown forming on her face. At least he wasn’t the only one. “Well, even if you don’t have a relationship after you tell him, you can’t just let this get to you forever.” 

Despite dreading the concept of telling him, he knew she was right. This wasn’t doing him any good, and he worried that Jack would find out on his own somehow. He at least wanted it to be in a situation he could control.

“You’re right. How do you always know this stuff?” He asked.

“Because I’m not emotionally stunted, dear.”

“Fair point.” He got up from the loveseat, moving carefully out of paranoia that he would somehow break the vase. “I’m gonna go tell him now.” A new surge of confidence filled him, and he immediately rushed out the door.

Ana rolled her eyes as he left. “Those two are perfect for each other.”

\--

Pulling up to Jack’s house, Gabriel saw Milton’s car. This could get ugly. 

He wasn’t sure if he should even announce his arrival. Instead, he snuck around the side and wraithed through the open window. Well, he already broke into this house once, what’s the harm in doing it a second time?

Hugging the wall, he saw Jack and Milton having a conversation in the living room, neither of them sitting down. Jack looked tense, even angry. 

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out that you sent someone after my best friend?” He felt a little bit of excitement hearing Jack call him his best friend, but then reminded himself that he had much more serious things to worry about right now. The tone of Jack’s voice was nearly to the point of yelling. Looks like it had gotten ugly before he even got there.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Milton said, entirely unconvincingly. Did he even care?

“Bullshit. We’re over. Get out of my house.” Jack said without hesitation.

Milton sighed. “I didn’t want to do this…” He pulled out a handgun. “Maybe I’ll let you live if you pay me.” He smirked. Oh, that poor fool.

Before Gabriel could react, Jack tackled Milton and snatched the gun out of his hands, then smacked him in the face with it. On the ground, Milton looked terrified. _OK, that was kind of hot._ Damn, Jack was tough. 

Jack stood up, looking down at Milton. “Listen to me. If you get out right now, I’ll let you live. But if you ever fucking try to hurt my friends again, you will die. And it won’t be a nice death, either. You understand me?” Milton slowly nodded. One of his eyes was wide, and the other probably would be too if it wasn’t swollen shut. Blood was coming out of his nose. He was lucky Jack was nicer than Gabriel, honestly, because he would’ve just killed that fucker on the spot. “Good. Now get the fuck out and don’t come back. I’m only warning you once.” 

Milton managed to get up, his balance so unsteady that he nearly fell over. Probably had a concussion. As soon as he could, he opened the door and ran out, and Gabriel heard his car speeding away.

Jack was breathing hard as his shoulders started to fall and he shifted from his fighting stance. He didn’t have a scratch on him. Little asshole didn’t stand a chance. “You can come out, Gabe.” Damn, he really did always know.

Gabriel gave him a sheepish look as he revealed himself. “Sorry. About him.” He wouldn’t lord over the fact that he was right this time, because he genuinely did feel bad for Jack. And a bit guilty for barging into his life and breaking up his relationship like that.

Jack sighed. “Not your fault.” 

“Nice of you to not kill him.”

Jack laughed a bit. “Mostly just didn’t want blood all over my wall. And I guess it’s hard for me to kill people I liked.” Jack grinned at him.

“Is that a jab at me?” Gabriel said, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe.” Jack snickered. 

Although Gabriel laughed at that, it faded quickly, as the guilt returned. “Sorry for kinda fucking up your life.” Jack finally had gotten the life he wanted, and he had ruined it. It made him feel like an asshole.

He grunted. “Probably would’ve happened eventually. Sure as hell wouldn’t have wanted to stay his sugar daddy forever. Really, I should thank you.” He looked down, face falling a bit. “Guess that means younger guys don’t like me after all. Getting old sucks.” It was clear that he was starting to get upset. 

_I like you. Say it._ “People are shitty. Don’t get why, because you’re a fucking catch.” _Say it. Don’t imply it._ He almost said ‘shut up’ out loud, then realized it was generally considered weird to talk to a voice that isn’t there.

He gave a bitter smile. “Doesn’t feel like it. Starting to think I’ll just be alone forever. I keep trying, and nobody ever likes me. It’s pathetic.” 

“I like you.” _Oh my God I said it._ Awful timing. 

“What do you mean?” Jack said, hesitating a bit. Ugh, dense old man.

“I mean I want to kiss you.”

_Did I just say that out loud?_


	6. Chapter 6

Jack stared at him for what felt like an eternity. He wondered if he really had ruined his only close friendship with just that one statement. Although he wanted to look literally anywhere other than Jack’s direction, feeling a mix of shame and hurt that threatened to bring him to his knees, all he could do was stare back at him. How could Jack just throw everything away because of--

That was when Jack grabbed his back and kissed him.

The next few moments were a blur. The only thing he knew was that it was a damn good one. Jack pulled him in as close as he could as Gabriel opened his mouth and let Jack’s tongue inside. Putting his hands on Jack’s hips, he kissed with an intensity he never had before, trying to take in every bit of Jack’s lips that he could. God, he tasted good. Gabriel relished in the smell of his aftershave as he brushed against the stubble on Jack’s chin. He always liked that mint scented one. When he heard Jack make a small, muffled moan, he would’ve given a cocky smirk if his mouth hadn’t been a bit occupied at that moment.

He gently trailed his teeth across Jack’s bottom lip and nipped at it, causing Jack to grab the back of his head and push his tongue as deeply as possible into Gabriel’s mouth. Gabriel was barely breathing at this point. All he could think of was how much he wanted more, how he wanted to preserve this feeling for as long as he could and never let go. He trailed his hands up Jack’s back and greedily moved his tongue around to feel every bit of Jack’s mouth. The motion and intensity of their kissing continued to increase with every second. This feeling of passion and closeness to Jack was what he’d been craving for months, but somehow even better than he could have imagined. 

His only regret was that he didn’t do this three decades ago.

After what simultaneously felt like an eternity and not nearly long enough, their lips parted, and both of them tried to catch their breath. Really, he wanted to throw his clothes off and take Jack right there, but he decided he had already tested his boundaries enough today.

After a few moments, all Jack said was “Damn.” His face was slightly red. When he recovered a bit, he said “How the hell did I not do that for so long?”

“You read my god damn mind.” 

Gabriel had always had some type of attraction to Jack beyond friendship, but he never fully understood what it was, and the two of them were too busy to make a relationship work, anyway. So, besides a single sexual experiment that they both swore was platonic, he stewed in his feelings in silence. On the other hand, those feelings had never been as strong as they were now. He would call those a crush; this feeling felt like it was absolutely consuming him. He needed Jack like he needed air. 

Now that he had a little while to recover, it fully dawned on him what they had just did. _I kissed Jack. And he kissed me back._

There was something that needed to be said, and with newfound boldness, Gabriel managed to speak up and say it. “So...are we a thing now?”

Jack grinned. “Why not? I’m on the rebound.” Despite the somewhat snarky response, he saw how wide Jack’s smile was right now, and the way his eyes were lighting up. Gorgeous. _Oh yeah, I can actually start telling him those things now._

With that, Gabriel (gently) pushed Jack onto the couch and put his hands in the other man’s hair, Jack giving him a dopey smile. “I promise you aren’t just my sugar daddy.” Gabriel said, returning with an equally goofy expression.

“Good, cause if you expect me to give you free shit, you’ll be disappointed.” He put his arms around Gabriel’s back, holding him closer.

“Wow, am I not out of your league?” It felt good that they could still banter like this. This was what he had wanted more than anything - to have a deep connection to Jack, but still be able to have fun with him like he always did. 

“Never said that. I just know you’ll stay.” As they kissed again, Gabriel felt like a teenager falling in love all over again.

God, was this what he had been missing?

\--

A month passed and Gabriel was the happiest he’d been in...well, maybe ever. Jack had told him he wasn’t going to make his boyfriend (God, he loved it when Jack called him that) stay at Motel Shithole, so he moved into Jack’s house. And he didn’t even have to pay rent.

It was perfect.

A bit too perfect.

Something was off. In the past month, Talon had done nothing to retaliate for his leaving, and Milton hadn’t attempted to get back at them either. He was sure at the time that both of them would become problems later on, but they had been quiet. 

If there was anything his life had taught him, it was that you should never trust it when someone is being quiet.

These thoughts were soon forgotten, though, as that day presented a bigger problem.

“Do I _really_ have to go to the dumbass thing?” Gabriel whined. At that moment, the two of them were driving towards a local rec center. Some of the old Overwatch agents were giving some kids from a local school a lesson about Overwatch for a history class, wanting to tell the story from an honest perspective and not from the frenzied popular opinion of the time (although the opinion towards Overwatch had softened over time, as people became focused on other things and Jack had been exonerated on all charges). Thankfully, most of the other agents didn’t know Reaper’s true identity, but that didn’t make the idea any less annoying. He wasn’t a damn teacher.

“Yes.” Jack said, ignoring his pouting. “Lena’s hosting it, and I’m going to support her. This is important to her.” His expression turned a bit more serious. “And I don’t want the entire next generation to hate us.”

“OK, but why do _I_ have to go?”

“Cause I don’t give you free housing so you can sit on your ass all day. Now stop bitching.” Gabriel crossed his arms and glared, but didn’t argue. He had a point. Really, with the fact that he didn’t pay rent, he didn’t really have the right to complain about most things. That wouldn’t stop him, though. Obviously.

\--

“Let’s see. Auditorium 2. Should be right here.” Jack said. When they opened the door, Gabriel scoped out the area to see which agents were there, and how many people he’d have to give the ‘I’m not actually dead’ spiel to. Lena, Genji, Winston, McCree, Ana, Reinhardt. Most of those were mildly tolerable. At least it wasn’t Torbjorn. 

Of course, possibly less tolerable were the kids. Lena appeared to be enjoying interacting with them, making them laugh a lot. Jack went ahead and greeted the children as well, and several of them lit up when they saw him. OK, so both of them were good with kids. He sure as hell wasn’t.

“IS THAT GABRIEL?” Reinhardt shouted, loudly enough that he could hear it all the way across the auditorium, and then began running towards Gabriel. He picked him up in a bone-crushing hug. As if his body wasn’t damaged enough already. In the background, Ana watched and laughed. Gabriel glared at her and considered flipping her off, but managed to stop himself from doing it in front of the children. After a few agonizing moments, he put him down. “We thought you were dead.”

Genji came up behind him. “It seems none of us are very good at being dead.” Gabriel always liked him.

He had to give the explanation of his ‘death’ multiple times and how it deformed his face, but not revealing the exact effects on the rest of him to avoid making it completely obvious who he was in the past (Winston had been particularly annoying about asking every little detail, saying that it was 'intellectual curiosity' about the 'wonders of science'. Gabriel quickly remembered why he never liked Winston). Only Lena, Jack, and Ana knew he was Reaper, and he hoped the rest of them were dense enough to not figure it out. If they did, they didn’t say anything, but he imagined it would be a bit of an awkward topic to bring up, so he didn’t take that as an assurance. 

Much easier to explain was his relationship with Jack.

“Yeah, me and Jack are a thing now.” Gabriel said, expecting some kind of awkward response.

“No shit.” McCree said.

“I thought you already were.” Reinhardt added with a confused expression, voice still obscenely loud.

It seemed like everyone had known except for them.

Lena came over towards them and hugged Jack. “Dad, you made it!”

Jack gave her a big smile. “‘Course. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

Coming over to him, Jack whispered in Gabriel’s ear “Thanks for being good. Keep it up. You’ve grown up a lot.” He kissed Gabriel on the cheek. Gabriel blushed a bit. Dammit, how did he always make him melt like that?

Maybe this stupid event wouldn’t be so bad after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, maybe it was that bad.

Once the children started talking (more like screeching), Gabriel knew this wasn’t going to be enjoyable. Jack seemed to neglect all of the fun and interesting parts of Overwatch, and instead explained its contributions to world peace and sanitized “funny” stories. No action, no talking about the assholes taken down, nothing about the damage they did to Talon, just endless positivity. Where was the fun in that?

As Lena took over talking when they got to later parts of the story, Gabriel whispered in Jack’s ear, “The kids want to know the cool parts, not this junk.”

“We’re not talking about killing people in front of children.” Jack whispered sternly.

“Why do you assume I only care about the killing?” Jack stared at him for a moment, saying nothing. “OK, fine, point taken. But still, this is boring.”

Jack paused, eventually sighing. “Know it’s not as exciting as beating the shit out of people, but we can’t just be known for hurting things. Reputation’s bad enough.” He rubbed his temples. “Look, we’ll get to the fall soon and how to stay away from bad people. That more fun to you?”

“ _Then_ can we talk about where we kicked their asses?”

“No!” Jack put his head in his hands. 

After a bit more bickering, Gabriel quieted down a bit. He was _so_ not pouting. He just didn’t have anything else to say. However, he seemed to have gotten into Jack’s head, as Jack kept staring back at him and fidgeting. Gabriel leaned back against the bleachers and watched him; after a while of watching Jack seem to become increasingly nervous, he realized that he might be ruining this occasion for Jack. This was important to him, and he shouldn’t call it boring. Even if it was. Easily Jack’s most annoying quality was his ability to make Gabriel be nice.

“Hey.” Gabriel whispered in his ear, “Didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I get it. The boring shit matters.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “You still suck at apologies. Wanna go outside for a minute and make out?”

“Fuck yeah.” God damn, Gabriel adored him.

\--

As the two of them walked outside, they noticed a small Omnic right outside of the rec center.

“Isn’t that one of those training bots they made you use for the new recruits?” Despite himself, Gabriel managed to smile at the memory. Being old really makes you nostalgic. “The hell is it doing here?”

“Beats me. Don’t know shit about their programs anymore.” At that moment, though, Gabriel realized something. Their color scheme appeared to be a bit off, and he saw a symbol shaped like a T on its front.

Jack seemed to notice this too, as he tensed up slightly. “Or maybe that isn’t an Overwatch model.”

Gabriel scoffed. Really? “That’s the best they’ve got? Can just destroy that right now.” Right as he said that, on either side of the original Omnic, two others began to construct themselves.

“Uh oh.” 

As new Omnics continued to develop on the sides, the already existing ones rushed at both Jack and Gabriel. Gabriel punched one and knocked it backwards, while Jack dodged a laser from the other. There was no way they could fight off all of them fast enough for them to stop regenerating. 

“Come on!” Jack opened the door to the auditorium and pushed Gabriel inside, but not before one of the bots made it in. It quickly sped across the floor and hit McCree with a laser. 

“The hell?!” He shouted, and pushed it away; it shot at him again and missed before Jack kicked it into the wall and it broke apart.

The kids seemed to have noticed the commotion, as they talked amongst themselves. Lena was trying to play it off as if it were part of the show, but it was clearly not working very well, as the kids’ voices were increasing in volume. 

As she tried to quiet them down, Jack said “Easily 50 of them out there now, and more are getting built. If they all attacked you at once, you wouldn’t survive.”

“Does anybody have their weapon?” Winston asked.

“Winston, dear, it wouldn’t make much sense to carry a sniper rifle to meet with children.” Ana said, which was mother speak for ‘you’re an idiot but I won’t say so out loud’. Winston deflated a bit.

Reinhardt pointed at some sports equipment and beamed as if he had found a perfect solution. Baseball bats, tennis rackets, golf clubs, the works.

“You serious?” Gabriel asked.

“Exchangin’ guns for soccer balls.” McCree said.

“Do not have any doubt! A true warrior can make any tool into a powerful weapon!” Reinhard bellowed.

The agents talked amongst themselves. Even now, all of them seemed to defer to Jack as the leader, as they stared at him and awaited his verdict on the situation. He sighed. “Well, it’s the best we’ve got.” He seemed to slip into his ‘strike commander mode’ easily even now, because he started using that same tone of voice and making the same hand gestures as he did all those years ago while he was making plans. Natural born leader. “Gotta get these kids out of here. I’ll try to sneak out the back with them.”

“I’m coming with you.” Gabriel stepped up and held onto his arm, making sure he knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Luckily, Jack didn’t seem interested in arguing with him, as he smiled and gave a small nod. There was no way he’d let Jack go out there alone. He’d lost him once and he was never going to take any chances with that again.

The kids seemed to just be growing more restless over time, and Lena finally gave up controlling them and walked over towards the agents. However, a girl that Gabriel guessed was at least a teenager put her hands in front of them and said, “Calm down everyone. We’ll all get out of this, and then we can get ice cream, and the grown ups will pay for it.” This seemed to calm them down, and several of them cheered. _I don’t remember saying I would do that, but sure._

The girl walked up to the agents as well and said “Those morons just think with their stomachs. You have to know how to trick them. You still have to buy it, though.” She winked. This girl was after his own heart.

“Who are you?” Gabriel asked. Jack elbowed him. OK, maybe he could’ve put that a bit less rudely.

But the girl didn’t seem to mind. “I’m Claire, and I help take care of the kids around here. They’re annoying, but colleges like it. And they’re cute when you make them be quiet.” 

Lena rolled her eyes. “She takes care of them by telling them to shut up. And today she told a kid she would tell his parents to get his wisdom teeth pulled if he didn’t sit down.” Gabriel couldn’t stop himself from laughing. 

Winston bit his...lip? (Do gorillas have lips?) and stared at the door. “That won’t hold for long. By my calculations, with the combined centripetal force of that many robots times the door’s approximate mass of--”

“Then we fight, comrades!” Reinhardt interrupted, putting his fist in the air. He picked up a golf club. “It’s just a thinner hammer!” Ana shook her head, but Gabriel could tell she was smiling. 

Lena, however, was easily caught up in his spirit, and cheered along with him. “Yeah! We’re heroes, remember? We’ll fight and keep them off you guys.”

Jack smiled at her and started to lead Gabriel out the back exit, then gestured the children towards it as well. “C’mon kids. Let’s go.” They moved in front of them, lead by Claire. “I’ll use the holo pad for comms.” Jack looked back at the other agents. “Stay safe, okay?” Lena nodded with confidence, while Reinhardt gave him a thumbs up and Ana smiled at him.

Gabriel hoped they wouldn’t have too many injuries the next time he saw them.

\--

Jack and Gabriel tried to keep the children quiet as they snuck out the back. There were still two more long hallways to get through before they reached the exit. He wasn’t entirely sure what they were going to do once they got out, but at least it would keep the kids from getting hurt. Claire continued to lead while Jack and Gabriel took the rear, with her looking much more serious than before. She had taken a tennis racket for good measure, although Gabriel doubted she could really do much with that. Unless it could somehow block lasers. 

“Lena, how’s it going over there?” Jack whispered, just loud enough for the holo pad to pick it up. 

“They’re about to get in,” she said, “But don’t worry, we got this!”

“Yeah boss, we’ll rough ‘em up.” McCree said. Always so confident with himself, even when he shouldn’t be.

The two of them heard a slamming sound. “The enemies are here! Onward, my friends!” That was definitely Reinhardt. 

Although a pang of fear went through him, he felt at least somewhat reassured when he heard the crunching sounds of many Omnics being destroyed. He heard Genji’s “hi-ya!” and recalled some of the more positive memories of Blackwatch. He smiled, despite himself.

There was something on Gabriel’s mind, however. “Hey,” he whispered to Jack, “How did they know how to make these build themselves? Thought that was special Overwatch technology.”

Jack continued to guide the children as he whispered back, “Must have broken into the Overwatch base and gotten the blueprints. There’s one around here, but it’s a secret to everyone except the agents. I sure as hell never told anyone--” He froze. “--Except Milton. Fuck.”

“Why the hell did you tell him that?” Gabriel asked, trying not to raise his voice to even normal speaking volume. 

“He said he was tired of me keeping secrets from him, and he’d break up with me if I didn’t tell him things when he asked.” He hung his head. “Shouldn’t have done it. Just didn’t want him to leave. God, I’m such a fucking idiot, I endangered everyone--”

Gabriel stopped him, putting his hand on his shoulder. “It’s fine. You trust people too easy. But it’s not your fault he’s a prick.” He shook his head. “Come on. Let’s get these little shits out of here before they start screaming.”

“I heard that,” Claire whispered, “And I agree. Hurry up.” 

The group trekked forward until they reached the first large double door, the entrance to the last hallway. Claire opened it, shushed the children, and all of them started to creep inside. By some miracle, they managed to stay quiet. Maybe she was good at this. 

As they slipped through the door, it closed behind Jack with a far too loud smack. 

Over the holo pad, he heard the sounds of fighting lessen, and Lena shouted “Oh no! Dad!” Hearing commotion in the background, Gabriel and Jack looked behind them just in time to see the Omnics burst through the door they just went out of.

“Go on!” Jack shouted. “I’ll keep them back!” He moved into his usual fighting stance. 

“I’ll stay with--”

“No! Somebody needs to go with the kids. Just go.” He paused, losing his ‘commander voice’ for a second. “I’ll be okay. Promise. Love you.” With that, he pushed Gabriel forward.

“You better not die, asshole,” Gabriel said. Jack grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up. Gabriel nodded at Claire, who led the children ahead as he kept up the rear, looking back at Jack the entire time.

 _He’s the toughest guy I know. He can handle himself._ He repeated to himself, hoping desperately that it was true.

\--

Gabriel had one idea. It might be their only shot. He picked up his own holo pad and entered a number that he would never forget.

“Sombra? You there?”

“Hi, Gabe.” She said, in that usual infuriating semi-sarcastic tone. It was so nice to hear it again.

“Talon’s sent some shit after me and Jack. You got any ideas for how to stop them?” He said, trying to keep himself hushed enough that the kids didn’t snoop in his business.

“I have one idea. Only for you, Gabi,” she said, in her much more infuriating sarcastic affection. “Bye now.”

“Wait, I wasn’t--” She hung up. He never understood her. At least he knew that she could get a job done.

“Hey,” Claire said, catching his attention, “Your boyfriend’s really brave. I respect that. He doesn’t have to pay for the ice cream.”

Gabriel snickered. “Sure he’ll appreciate that.”

“What’s your name, anyway?” She asked.

He thought about lying to her for a moment, but then remembered that he wasn’t undercover anymore. He was retired. Or at least he was, until Talon tried to drag him out of it with this bullshit. “Gabriel. Wanna see something I can scare the kids with later?”

“Uh, yes,” she said, sounding way too excited. Gabriel dematerialized his hand. “Oh my God, that would be so rich. When we get out of here, you have to do that. Do it to that annoying Jeremiah. He could use a lesson.” She looked back at the children. “It might not be a good idea right now, though, because they’re actually scared.”

Gabriel gave a closer look at the children for the first time. He had been so caught up in his own problems that he hadn’t seen how terror had appeared on many of their faces, as they seemed to finally understand the gravity of the situation. He felt a little bad for them. 

Claire's tough facade faded for a moment, as she sighed and said, "We're gonna get out of this, right?"

Gabriel nodded. "We can kick their asses. They're tin cans, and we're both tough." That seemed to motivate her a bit. How an adult could give a kid so much confidence always impressed him. Ugh, when did he get so soft? Probably Jack’s fault.

Maybe he needed to get Jack off his mind before he had a panic attack.

\--

Jack kept hitting Omnics away from him, feeling like he was making no progress whatsoever. He decided he only had one option: tactical retreat. The wounds he had already hurt like hell. He punched Omnics out of the way to clear a path for himself back through the hallway. One, two, three, four, five, Jesus Christ how many of these things were there?

After an onslaught that seemed absolutely endless, Jack managed to get back into the auditorium they had come from. He slammed the door behind him and hoped that would hold them for at least a few minutes. However, he couldn’t find anyone.

“Hello?” He shouted. That was all he had time to say before the Omnics burst through the door again. He didn’t even know where to go now. When he ran to the nearest door, a hand came out and pulled him in. 

\--

Gabriel received another transmission on the holo pad, and took it out instantly, hoping for news about Jack. It was just like old times, battling Omnics and waiting for Jack to tell him that he hadn’t gotten himself killed.

“Gabe?” Jack said on the other line. Relief crashed over him. 

“Oh thank Christ,” Gabriel said.

At least he still had Jack. That was all the motivation he needed to keep going.


	8. Chapter 8

“Yeah, got a little beat up there, but Lena pulled me out. We’re all hiding in the big supply room. There are way too many of them for us to fight off. Up to you now.” He heard Jack hiss in pain. “Don’t touch that, please,” he said in a strained voice towards someone in the background.

“I will fight to my last breath if I must! I am not afraid of some weak scrap metal!” Reinhardt shouted. Gabriel sometimes wished he had that much confidence. Except it would probably get him killed because he wasn’t a 7 foot tall crushing machine, so maybe not.

“What am I even supposed to do?” Gabriel asked, noticing that they were almost at the end of the hall. But once they were outside, where would they even go?

“Beats me. You’ll figure it out. You’re smart.”

He wasn’t sure whether to find that completely unhelpful statement flattering or infuriating.

“Gabriel, they’re beating on the door right now.” He recognized Ana’s voice. “It won’t hold forever. Not to pressure you, but it’s your responsibility now.” He knew that when she said that, she was absolutely trying to pressure him.

What could he even do?

He still had Sombra. She said she had one idea, right? He dialed her number again.

“Hola.”

“Sombra,” he said, trying to make it as clear as possible with his tone that he wasn’t kidding around, “Can you hack into the robots? There are a shit ton of them, but you’ve got the EMP software around there somewhere, right? You can EMP the Talon system and shut all of them down at once.”

“But wouldn’t that be disobeying my boss?”

There was a pause, and then they both laughed.

“I’ll save your boyfriend, and won’t even charge you. This time.”

“Good, cause I wouldn’t pay it, _puta_.” Claire gestured towards him to get his attention, and he saw that she was opening the door outside. “Gotta go.”

“ _Adiós_. Have fun, hero.” She snickered. Gabriel rolled his eyes and closed the connection. 

The children stood there after the door was opened, not knowing where they were going. “Get out of here and go get help,” Claire said.

“What about you guys?” One child asked.

Claire gave an exasperated sigh, then said, “If you don’t go now, you can forget about the ice cream.”

“No!” The child yelled, and ran forward. In as orderly of a fashion as Claire and Gabriel could manage to make a bunch of children go in, they funneled through the door until Claire and Gabriel were the only two that hadn’t left. Gabriel turned around and started to walk back where they came from.

“Where are you going?” Claire asked, running to catch up with him.

“To help Jack and the others,” he said, hands balled into fists. This was his responsibility, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to leave without Jack. 

“You’ll get yourself killed. Don’t be an idiot.” Ugh, he hated kids that sassed him.

“I’ll be an idiot if it saves Jack. Now go join the rest of the kids and get out of here. No need for you to get hurt, too.”

Their conversation was interrupted, however, as both of them froze in their tracks. At the door, there were five Omnics waiting for them.

“Shit! These things are everywhere!” The robots were getting really fucking annoying. Without any further warning, all five of them rushed at Gabriel and Claire. Two of them jumped on Gabriel at once, tackling him to the ground. He kicked one off, but just ran into another one. As four of them attacked him, he felt the weight of them quickly shift, and looked up to see Claire beating them back with her tennis racket. She managed to hit one so hard that it broke apart. Damn. Tough kid.

One of them attacked her as well, which Gabriel hit out of the air. “I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine.” She nodded at him with a cocky grin.

He really hoped Sombra would get on with it.

\--

Sombra walked through the hallway, and threw her translocator upwards into her secret room.

\--

Jack and the rest of the agents stared at the door, with the sounds of the Omnics beating on it becoming louder. He was too injured to do much fighting whenever they got in, which made him feel completely useless. Reinhardt held the golf club up, but he knew that wouldn’t do anything if that many of them broke in. As he sat on a bench, Lena held onto his arm. Poor kid. He wanted to comfort her, but really, he needed comforting himself right now. Damn, he missed Gabriel.

\--

With the help of the translocator, Sombra rose upwards and into the room. She moved towards her chair, where her programming station sat, all of the screens she used as cameras pointed outside of the room to make sure no one came by.

\--

Gabriel backed away for a moment to avoid the Omnic coming towards him. One shot a laser at his foot, while another punched Claire.

“Hey!” She yelled.

“Ow! Fuck!” Gabriel said, holding onto his now-burned foot.

\--

Sombra pulled up a program on the pad. It prompted her for the password.

\--

The door gave way and the Omnics broke in. There had to be at least 100 of them. All Jack could do was brace himself for impact. He heard shouting from the other agents around him, and Lena buried her face in his shoulder.   
What a shitty way to die.

\--

“EMP activated.”

\--

After a moment of no attacks coming, he felt Lena stir next to him. Looking towards the door, he saw the Omnics suddenly put their heads down and freeze in place, some of them falling uselessly to the ground. What the hell? He looked around for an indication that anyone else knew what had happened, but everyone looked just as confused as he was.

\--

The Omnic attacking Gabriel fell to the ground. He felt his holo pad vibrating and picked it up.

“Hey Gabe.”

“Sombra, did you--” 

“You should probably clean up those robots so the janitors don’t have to do it.” He could just imagine her looking at her nails right now with a cocky smirk on her face. He kind of wished he could see it.  
“Thanks. You saved our asses.” He tried to keep himself from being too emotional, but she might have just saved Jack’s life. 

Wait. Jack.

Bursting back down the hallway and through the door, he reached the auditorium in breakneck speed. There were a ton of broken Omnic parts all over the floor, in the bleachers, and on the walls. Damn, his (former?) friends were still so tough. Beating the shit out of this many with only sports equipment. Although that was a nice sign, he still couldn’t find them. 

“Jack?” He called, hoping desperately for an answer. If he had still lost him somehow…

“In here, Gabe.” Jack shouted back, coming out of the door on the left wall, limping slightly. Without thinking, Gabriel ran towards him and hugged him as hard as he could, trying his best to keep a tear out of his eye. He felt Jack recoil slightly.

“Sorry. Still hurts down there.” Taking a closer look, he saw Jack covered in many burns and bruises. Instantly, rage filled him, and he resolved to make both Milton and all of Talon pay for hurting Jack like that.

“Gabe, I can tell what you’re thinking. Reign it in.” Jack smiled at him. How could he say no to that face?

Without warning, Jack grabbed his cheeks and pushed their lips together. The kiss was almost as intense as their first one, as both of them expressed every bit of relief they felt. God, he never wanted to be separated from him again. All he could think of was his desperation to keep Jack as close as possible, to take in every bit of him in case he ever lost him again. Every time they were put in danger like this, it just reminded him more and more that he needed to value every possible moment they had together.

“Get a room,” he heard McCree say in the background.

“Glad you’re okay too, little shit,” Gabriel said, but couldn’t keep himself from smiling. He missed that kid. Even with his damn smart mouth. He saw Genji standing next to him and laughing. During the Blackwatch days, he never imagined he’d see Genji actually be happy. 

“Aww, it’s adorable!” Lena said, holding her hands together with a huge smile on her face. “Dad, I’m so happy for you!” Jack scratched the back of his head. Lena came up to Gabriel and hugged him, catching him completely by surprise. “Thanks. You’re a real hero.” Damn. This was reminding him of why it was always so nice to be on the good side.

Reinhardt came up to him as well, and he tried to make sure Lena stayed with him as long as possible so Reinhardt wouldn’t get the chance to crush him again. “Yes, you showed great courage and strength. I am proud to be your friend!” 

He had missed having friends.

However, Lena had to let go eventually. When she did, instead of hugging him, Reinhardt lifted him up in celebration. Even though he struggled a bit (and McCree and Genji laughing didn’t make him feel any better about it. He would try to remember to remind them he was still their boss later.), he stopped when Ana smiled at them, a sweet smile with no sarcasm or wit behind it. Just a genuine, motherly, caring smile. One he only saw her give to him when he truly impressed her. It was one he hadn’t seen in years, and something about that was more special than any words she could’ve said.

Eventually, he heard the doors behind them open, and saw Claire walking towards them. “You still promised that ice cream. The kids are coming back soon, and they might kill you if you hold out on them.” She came closer to his ear and whispered, “And I’m still waiting for you to scare Jeremiah. Maybe he’ll spill his ice cream on himself. That’ll teach him a lesson.” Okay, maybe not all kids were so bad. Just the little ones. He patted Claire on the back, dematerializing his hand again while he did so and making her jump. She glared at him, then they both laughed. After this, he hoped he would be able to see her again. This was a kid he wouldn’t mind keeping around.

As the people in the auditorium talked amongst themselves, starting to clean up some of the broken parts on the floor, he hugged Jack. “You almost got yourself killed. Again. You’re the bravest guy I know.” He knew with the advanced healing that Jack would be fine again in no time. His boyfriend was still here, safe and in one piece, and that was all that mattered. He kept the thought in his head to shove Milton’s head up his own asshole later, but he decided not to bring that up right now.

They touched their foreheads together. “Only for you, hero.”

The word, one he’d heard several times today, echoed in his head.

Hero.

He never thought he’d be one of those again.


	9. Chapter 9

However, he might not be considered a hero for long. What he was planning on doing was...morally ambiguous, to say the least. 

After Jack went to sleep, he knew it was time to move into action. With the help of Sombra, he managed to find out where Milton lived. Donning his Reaper outfit once again Gabriel quickly made him “mysteriously disappear”. Boy barely even had time to turn around before he was dead. Good riddance. He disposed of the body and couldn’t wait to tell Jack. Considering he hadn’t followed Jack’s demands from their last encounter, he was sure he wanted him dead, too.

\--

“You did _what_?!” Jack said, nearly shouting. 

“What? You said yourself you wanted him dead. Now he is.” Gabriel was taken aback by his reaction. Maybe it was just because he told him so early in the morning. 

“You told me you were done with this shit! Do you know how fucking dangerous it is to do this all on your own if Talon is behind him?! Can’t just go renegade assassin on us anymore, especially since it’s not just you and me now. Besides getting yourself fucking killed, did you ever think they might go after our friends, too?” Jack tried the breathing exercises Gabriel had seen him do before, but they were clearly not working. “Was wondering why some guys tried to jump Lena last night. Fought them off herself, but she wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t gone and pissed them off again!” Ah, so that was the reason.

“You wanted revenge too! So I’m the bad guy because I actually did it?” He fired back.

“I wanted to kill him specifically to protect the people I care about. You did the opposite. You put her and yourself in danger because of your fucking ego, not anything else.” He accused. A small part of his face was turning red, and he clung to the armrests of his chair so hard that Gabriel wondered if they might come off.

“And you almost get yourself killed all the time! How is that any better?” 

“At least I don’t drag innocent people into it! Do you even fucking care?” Finally, his breathing seemed to even out a bit, and he paused. “Listen to me. You need to tell her the truth and give her a damn good apology. I’m not fucking around.”

He was about to shout something back, adrenaline still pumping, but he realized how important Lena was to Jack and that he was treading on very dangerous ground arguing about it at all. It had been a while since he had seen him this angry. Would he leave him over this? That wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

He recalled when Jack told him about “conflict resolution skills”. At the time, he thought it was a bunch of bullshit meant to appease the dumbass UN people, but over time it was starting to seem like they might actually be useful in real life. Don’t be snarky or rude. Don’t antagonize him while he’s already angry. Doing everything he could to keep any accusation out of his tone, he said “Okay. I’ll apologize to her. I promise.” 

That seemed to at least slightly satisfy Jack. “Good.” Wow, maybe those ‘skills’ actually worked on real people and not just plastic political figureheads. Jack rubbed his temples. “I’m serious. Going out for a while, and when I come back, you better be on your way to telling her.” To emphasize his point, Jack stared directly into his eyes, brow furrowed deeply. As Jack got up from his chair, he sighed, then turned away, opened the door, and walked out.

Hopefully not permanently.

\--

He knocked on the door to Lena’s hotel room. The drive was almost 30 minutes long, and he had spent that entire time agonizing over what he was going to say. His relationship could hang in the balance here. The more he thought about it, the more he internalized that he had seriously fucked up. He didn’t even tell Jack about what he had been planning even though it was his former relationship. Maybe he had just been scared he’d say no. And he did genuinely feel bad for putting her in that situation. Damn, maybe Jack had given him a soft spot for her too.

During the drive, he realized that this put him at a crossroads that he knew, on some level, that he would have to face eventually. If he wanted to be with Jack in retirement, he was going to have to settle down, too. Which meant no more killing or revenge missions. He felt as if this meant he was permanently giving up on his entire past life. Was it worth it?

This question haunted him as he waited for Lena to open the door. It felt like she was taking painfully long. Did she change hotels?

The hotel was much nicer than Motel Shithole, he’d say that. For one, the walls in the hallways didn’t have any holes in them. They were lined with flower-print wallpaper instead of grease marks. It wasn’t something incredibly grandiose, but it was one of the most relaxing spaces he had ever been in, and that kind of experience wasn’t easy to find. If only he were capable of being relaxed right now. It was weird to even imagine an attack taking place anywhere near such a peaceful place. 

Finally, she opened the door with a sheepish expression. “Hi. Did Dad kick you out?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. I don’t think.” He took a deep breath. He could do this. There was something nerve-wracking to him about this. Once he apologized to her, he knew there was no going back. This felt like taking a jump into ice water.

“So...I think you already know, but the people who attacked you did it because of me. I pissed them off and they went after you. You could’ve gotten hurt, and it was my fault. You’re a sweet girl and shouldn’t have to get wrapped up in my shit. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll never do anything like that again. If I do, you can tell your Dad on me.” He released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“He was that mad, huh?” He nodded. No point in hiding that. “Well...it sounds like you mean it. I’ll tell him that I forgive you. Just don’t go breaking any more laws, okay love?” She winked at him. He had been hoping that she didn’t know exactly what happened. He knew Jack wouldn’t tell her, even if he was pissed off. Overwatch had its eyes everywhere, he supposed. 

He smiled at her, some of the tension in his joints resolving. This all sure as hell would’ve been pointless if she had rejected him. “Thanks. You’re the best. You think he’ll let me off the hook?”

“If he doesn’t, I’ll tell him to stop being daft.” She giggled. “You love each other. I don’t want that to go away just because of me. And you’re so cute together!” She nodded at him, as he fought off a blush. Maybe he and Jack did belong together, if other people noticed this much. “I really do forgive you and trust you didn’t mean for me to get caught up in it. Never say nobody believes in you, love.” She gave him a smile, one that seemed to have a shine of its own. He was glad Jack had her. It was probably good for him to have some positivity in his life. And it was a welcome change of pace to have someone not assume the worst in him. 

“You’re a lifesaver.” He grinned at her. “Thanks for helping me not get dumped.”

“Anytime. You’ll stay together if I can help it.” She giggled again. 

He didn’t want to waste any time. He had to see if Jack would forgive him or not. Jack had to, right? God, he desperately hoped so. “See you later, Lena.”

“Goodbye, love! Good luck!” She said, nearly shouting. She closed her door, giving him a thumbs up as the door closed. When he walked back down the hallway and into the elevator, he didn’t even pay attention to his surroundings, lightly pushing a couple of people out of the way. He was on a mission.

He felt like he had just sacrificed a major part of him. He asked himself again, was it worth it? 

Yes. Yes it was.

\--

He pulled into Jack’s (and still his own, hopefully) driveway. The neighborhood seemed so peaceful right now, a deep contrast to the turmoil going on his mind. The sun had just set. It would almost be romantic in a better moment. Was he even welcome right now? Well, that hadn’t stopped him before, he supposed. At least he actually knocked this time. Sneaking through the window didn’t exactly help his apology last time.

The door opened. Jack stood in the doorway, looking surprisingly sheepish. “Hey. Sorry for yelling at you. Know you were just doing it to defend me.” He sighed. “And you were right. I’m a hypocrite. I was thinking of killing him too. Just worry a lot about her, is all.”

“No, I kinda deserved it.” He shook his head. “Sorry for putting her in danger. Need to be more careful with other people.” Wow, two apologies in one day. He was on a roll here. 

He took some initiative and reached his hand out to shake Jack’s. Jack stared at him for a moment, then surprised him with a hug. “You’ve grown up a lot. And your apologies aren’t as shit anymore.” He pulled away and grinned at him. Oh yeah, he had made the right choice. 

“So, do I still have a place to sleep?”

Jack laughed. “Yeah. C’mere.” He pulled Gabriel in and kissed him. “Come inside. Dinner’s almost ready. And I won’t even make you sleep on the couch tonight.”

“Wow, so generous.” Gabriel grinned, staring into those shining eyes. A smile lit up his face, as if he was just as relieved that this fight was solved as Gabriel was. Seeing Jack this happy was worth swallowing his pride every once in a while. Only sometimes, though. Can’t make this _too_ regular of a thing. “Not sure I trust your cooking, though.”

“Hey! You taught me some stuff, I’m not as shit anymore.” Gabriel recalled some informal cooking lessons he had given Jack after their cake disaster. It took hours to get all of that frosting off the walls, and just as long to get it out of Jack’s hair. Even though it was hilarious, they still couldn’t let it happen again.

“Jack, nobody can fix something that broken.”

“You know, maybe you are sleeping on the couch after all.”

“Aw, come on babe, don’t be like that.” He kissed the back of Jack’s hand. “Let’s go. If it’s shit we can just order pizza.”

And yes, that’s exactly what they ended up doing.

\--

For years, Christmas time had been more depressing to Gabriel than any kind of joyful. It was just a reminder that he was alone, and that all of his friends and family were gone. He would watch people, even some of the Talon members he hated most, enjoying their time with the people they were close to. He hadn’t gotten to do that. Not that he was close with anyone at the time, anyway.

But now he was.

Jack was working on hanging up Christmas lights all over the house. It was adorable how excited he got over it, like some kind of child. Something about the season seemed to put Jack in a better mood, as he whistled while hanging lights over the window. Even though their decorations were a bit late (OK, very late, considering Christmas was tomorrow), Jack seemed determined to have a house straight from a Hallmark movie.

“You could help, you know.” Jack said as he strained his arms to reach the corner of the window.

“I dunno, looks like you’re having fun up there.” Gabriel grinned at him as he cracked open a beer can, watching Jack from the couch (and not at all minding the glimpses he got of Jack’s muscles flexing while he decorated). He leaned back into the cushion and took a sip.

“Yeah, just peachy.” Jack glared at him, but there wasn’t any malice behind it. His excitement was clearly still surging. After he backed away from the window, he put his hands on his hips and looked around the room. “Looks pretty damn good.”

“You’re one of Santa’s best elves.” Gabriel snickered.

“Just wait, I’ll wipe that smirk off your face later.” He grinned at Gabriel, who had no idea what the hell he meant by that. Probably some kind of bad flirting. “Now come help me with dinner.” He gestured towards Gabriel and walked into the kitchen. Thank God he didn’t start without him. That would be a great way to ruin Christmas.

\--

As they sat in the living room after dinner, stomachs full (Jack had even made some of the dinner himself, and it was actually good. OK, by 'some' that meant he had used the microwave, but it was still a start), Gabriel rubbed Jack’s shoulders. He had been fidgeting quite a bit that night, and Gabriel took this to mean that he was nervous about the people coming over for dinner tomorrow. It was a bit odd for him to be nervous, he thought, because it was only their friends. Still, with his increased fear of crowds, maybe that was the issue, even among good friends. And they didn’t even invite Winston this time, so in Gabriel’s mind it was already perfect.

“Ugh, can’t wait anymore.” Jack suddenly got up and walked upstairs. Did he piss him off somehow? Was his mood just that erratic? If there was one thing he didn’t like, it was people that were too sensitive, so he really hoped Jack wasn’t becoming one of _those_.

These fears were dispelled when Jack immediately came back down with a box. He scratched the back of his head as he presented it to Gabriel. “Know it’s too early for gifts, but I’m too excited about this. Open it.” He stared at Gabriel expectantly.

Gabriel gave him a quizzical expression, but did as he was told. Usually Jack was all about keeping traditions. He was acting like a parent that just gave their teenager a car or something. When he opened it, he saw a box of pills.

“Huh?”

Jack took a deep breath. “So. This is for you. Got Angela to help me make medicine to help you control your body. Took months, but this is what we came up with. Don’t ask me how it works, because I sure as hell don’t know.” He chuckled. “It won’t fix everything, and won’t work right away, but it made me so sad seeing you hurt like that and I wanted to do what I could.” He smiled at him. “Merry Christmas, Gabe.”

“Jack…” He felt himself tearing up a bit.

“Oh God, did I piss you off, sorr-”

Gabriel lunged at him and hugged him as tightly as he could. God, when was the last time he was even close to not being a monster? “Thank you. So much.” Jack was caught off guard initially, but wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s back and held him with a similar grip. Their eyes met, and he pulled in to kiss him on the lips. 

Some things were left unsaid. How this eased some of the guilt Jack felt, even though Gabriel had told him many times that it wasn’t his fault. How feeling human was the best and most thoughtful thing Jack could’ve ever given him. How it was bittersweet, because it meant that there was basically no way to make him completely normal again, and this was just settling for the best they could do. How his appreciation of the gesture was strong enough that even that reality couldn’t dull the happiness he felt. How Gabriel adored Jack more than anyone he had ever met, and that this was probably the kindest thing anyone had ever done for him.

How Jack was his own Christmas miracle.

After they pulled away, Gabriel grinned at him. “This better not turn me into dust or some shit.”

Jack grinned in return. “No promises. I don’t know what the fuck is in that.” 

“Worth a shot.” Gabriel got up. “Gonna go get ready for bed.” Oh yes, Jack was gonna get some good dick tonight.

As he walked towards their room, he noticed the closet was still open. If only Jack were still here so he could make a ‘coming out of the closet’ joke. Missed opportunity. When he went to close the door, he saw his Reaper cloak and mask, hung up on a clothing rack. 

He stared at them for a moment. After considering it, he made a decision. He took the mask in his hands and broke it in half over his knee. That life was behind him now. He was never going back. Despite how much he had struggled with it in the past, at this point, he had never been more sure of anything. There was no way he’d ever endanger what he had now again, not even for the revenge scheme he had spent so long dedicated to. And damn, did he feel so much stress off his back almost immediately when he put that behind him. He really was tired. He hid the pieces of the mask away in a barely-touched drawer deep in the closet.

This was his life now. It was a much happier one, anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

Time continued to pass. Jack and Gabriel’s relationship wasn’t perfect; they still had plenty of disagreements and both of them made mistakes with each other. But ever since Gabriel finally got better at apologizing (even though it was still a rare occurrence), their arguments tended to end much more quickly, and their relationship held on without bitterness. Maybe this was what it was like to not be emotionally stunted.

Ana, Jack, Lena, and Gabriel mutually decided not to tell the rest of the former Overwatch agents that he had been Reaper. He didn’t touch the cloak again. Having some companionship back was worth more than a revenge scheme, and something he honestly felt he didn’t particularly deserve, but he was lucky enough that others felt he did. There was a small part of him that wondered what could’ve been if he had kept fighting, if he could have destroyed everyone that had been in Talon for nearly getting Jack and his friends killed again, but he knew that it was a sacrifice worth making. He was tired, anyway.

Jack developed closer friendships with many of the former Overwatch agents. In fact, he had become quite a bit happier and more social over time. Almost like he was before the explosion. Some of that optimism and positivity that never fully was kept down was starting to emerge as well, and Gabriel found it unbelievably charming. Gabriel managed to make friends with some of them, too. Still couldn’t stand Winston, though. Always talking about some bullshit about chemistry or whatever. Boring. 

His relationships with Ana and Lena continued to progress, and he considered both of them to be worth trusting. Trust wasn’t something he gave out easily anymore. But those two came through for him over and over. Ana’s role was mostly to keep him from making dumb mistakes (Jack had been completely right about that being her intention, he realized), and Lena was good with helping him deal with the fallout whenever he did (and was pretty good for buttering Jack up about things). Not only that, but he saw Claire some more afterwards, and started to understand on some level what Jack felt about wanting to protect someone that wasn’t even your actual child. She would help him mess with Jack, while he would scare the children straight if they were misbehaving (or when either of them thought it would be funny).

Jack and Gabriel did get married. Gabriel thought it was just another title, but it made Jack happy, so he went with it. And he did _not_ cry during their vows, no matter what Jack said. It was just humid that day. Still, he would admit that it was a magical day for Jack (and maybe himself too), and the sex on their honeymoon was incredible. Even with the process that went into it, he didn’t regret a thing…

...Except right now, because of Jack’s second anniversary “idea”.

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.” Gabriel groaned, as they passed the fourth cornfield in a row on their way to Bloomington.

“Heard you the first five times.” Jack grunted in response. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see.” 

"I think we have different definitions of fun."

Although he had told them he was alive about a year ago, Jack hadn’t gone seen his parents in years (which he might have done on purpose, because he said his mother might’ve spanked him in public if she had been next to him when he told her. Gabriel kind of wished he could’ve seen that.), and he had decided that Gabriel should come with him when he went to see them again. Despite his whining, he did want to support Jack. Why couldn’t his hometown be somewhere less boring?

When they reached Bloomington, Gabriel saw something that resembled civilization and was filled with hope. However, this quickly turned to dismay as Jack took a turn into the outskirts of town, into a place with nothing but barns and fields. “Actually a college town, but I figured we’re too old to get trashed with the IU kids.” Jack said.

“Probably would be better than this.” Gabriel rested his head on his hand, pouting. 

When they pulled up to the Morrison family farm, it wasn’t what he expected at all. The entire place was easily triple the size that he had pictured it to be. Crops of all types lined the property, neatly arranged in rows; he tried to see if he could recognize any of them, but realized he wasn’t exactly a farmhand, and many weren’t far enough into the growing season that they looked like anything but a bunch of particularly thick grass.

“Wow. This place is fucking huge. You lived here? What were you, millionaires?” He said, looking around the horizon. No matter how much he searched, he still felt like he couldn't take in everything. 

“That’s how farms work, Gabe. Also, watch your language around them.” He said, sternly pointing at him.

“Fine, fine. You sure they won’t beat me with a pitchfork if they see the way I look?” He said, putting his sunglasses on. Since he had gotten the medication, the smoke emitting from his body had mostly stopped, but it didn’t change some of the deformities he suffered, and he still didn’t look exactly like a normal person. These simple ass people would probably be terrified of him. Maybe they’d think he’s the antichrist or something. If he was honest, he was still a bit ashamed of the way he looked, especially when he would be around someone who knew what he looked like before the explosion. They knew Gabriel Reyes as an attractive man, not a monster. He wished he could keep it that way.

“They won’t, but I might if you don’t shut up.” Even though his words were gruff, Jack gave Gabriel’s hand a small squeeze, a tender gesture that gave him a bit more faith. 

Putting his misgivings aside, Gabriel followed Jack to a building near the middle of the property that looked small in comparison to its surroundings. He knocked on the door. The old woman who opened the door looked miles different than what she had when Gabriel last saw her - which he realized was because he hadn’t seen Jack’s parents in decades. Even though her hair had turned completely white, and she walked with a slight hunch, she was still recognizable as Jack’s mother mostly by the striking blue eyes. 

“Mama!” Jack said. The two of them hugged. 

Meanwhile, Gabriel stood behind them, trying to figure out whether to look either of them in the eyes or not. _Maybe she’ll be too distracted and not see me._ No such luck – her gaze drifted towards him. If she was judgmental, though, she didn’t acknowledge it, because all she said was “Come on in, both of you!”

They entered the little farmhouse. The whole place was very simple, with somewhat bland green wallpaper with flower patterns and plain white carpet. The excessively bright flower patterns, as well as the large yellow table in the middle of the room, contrasted very poorly with the subdued coloring of the wallpaper and carpet. The kind of interior design failure only a Morrison could make. The living room also had a couple of couches to sit on, an overhead light, a TV, and a ton of pictures on the wall.

Finally, as the three of them sat down on the seats in the room (Jack and his mother on either side of the large couch and Gabriel on a loveseat nearby), Gabriel broke his silence. “Hi, Mrs. Morrison. Don’t know if you recognize me, but it’s Gabriel.” He scratched the back of his head. Why was he so nervous? Did the opinions of some rednecks really matter that much to him? Damn it, Jack always got him to care about the stupidest shit. “Know I look a little weird.”

Jack’s mother shook her head. “That’s nothing. You should see some of the boys Jackie brought home in high school.”

Jack groaned. “Mama, don’t embarrass me in front of my husband.”

“Alright, I won’t. At least not when you’re around.” She winked. Gabriel made a mental note to ask her about those boys later. He had a feeling they would give him ammo to make fun of Jack with for _years_.

At that moment, a man walked into the room. Old man, blue eyes, muscles, bald, vaguely familiar facial structure...definitely Jack’s father, Gabriel deduced. 

“Hey Dad!” Jack said. His father came over and shook his hand instead of hugging him. Rednecks and their fragile masculinity. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

With that, Jack’s mother smacked her son’s side.

“Ow.”

“Don’t you ever scare us like that again!” His mother said, putting her hands on her hips. Jack rubbed at his side, looking sheepish. Seeing this large military man get scolded by his mother like a child was...surreal, to say the least. _What a kid._

Jack’s father looked over at Gabriel. He was about to start explaining himself and trying to soften the blow of seeing someone that was such a freak, until Jack’s father said, “You ended up with Gabriel?” Jack nodded. His father looked at him thoughtfully. “Bet he’s good in bed.”

“Charles!” Jack’s mother said.

Jack and his parents talked for a couple of hours, catching up on everything that had happened in recent years (well, obviously Jack had to leave some things out). While Gabriel did make some comments, he stayed mostly quiet, because this was Jack’s moment, not his (and because every time they mentioned crops, he immediately tuned out). Over time, he realized that their relationship wasn’t so different from Jack and Gabriel’s. They had a similar dynamic...but the jokes were slightly less inappropriate. Maybe their own relationship wasn’t as weird as he thought. And neither of them were monsters.

A while after night had fallen, Jack got up. “Hey, we should probably get going.”

His mother nodded. “You have to get your sleep, Jackie. You’ll die young if you don’t.”

“I don’t think he’s at any risk of that.” Gabriel said, snickering.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Thanks, honey.”

“We’ll see you again soon, right, son?” Jack’s father said. It almost sounded more like a threat than a request.

Jack nodded. “Of course. I won’t pretend to be dead again, I promise.” Jack’s father laughed.

As Jack started to walk out the door, Gabriel pulled his mother to the side. “Thanks for not freaking out. Even though I’m...yeah.” He said, gesturing towards his face.

His mother closed her eyes. “What matters is that you make my boy happy. He loves you a lot, you know. A mom knows. Take good care of him, okay?” 

He nodded. “Of course.” _Well, he wouldn’t have married me if I didn’t._ At least, he hoped so.

“Bye Dad! Bye Mama! Love you!” Jack waved at them, and they returned it.

“Love you too, Jackie!”

“See you soon, son.”

After they got back to the car, Jack said “Thanks for coming with me.” He smiled. “Told you they wouldn’t judge you.”

“I appreciated it, _Jackie_.”

Jack punched him in the arm. “Fuck you.” 

As the two drove off, Gabriel felt much more at peace than he did on the ride to Bloomington. Although he was dreading the visit, the way Jack’s parents were so open-minded put his soul at ease. _Guess I know where he got it from._ He put his hands behind his head.

Maybe bumfuck nowhere wasn’t so bad after all.

\--

Yes it was. 

After three of the most boring days of Gabriel’s life, he and Jack drove away from the town. There was basically nothing to do at all, and the motel they stayed at reminded him way too much of Motel Shithole, and not in any positive way. Jack tried to keep him entertained by showing him landmarks of his childhood, but he had already seen most of them, and they weren’t even interesting the first time. And he sure as hell was not going into that creepy church Jack used to go to, especially with the way he looked now. Probably would get holy water thrown at him.

Jack looked at Gabriel in the passenger side. “Thanks for coming, Gabe. Know it was kind of shitty for you.”

“If we go there again, we should get trashed.” The two shared a laugh.

As the town got further away, Gabriel looked over at Jack, who was humming along to a rock song on the radio, some boring old man music that he didn’t care enough to identify. Even though the experience had been excruciating for him, Jack seemed to be in high spirits. Seeing how happy it made Jack to go back to the people he had spent time with in the past made a small part of him lament how he cut everyone off the way he did. Some of them were people and relationships he’d never get back. He would probably feel some type of regret for the rest of his life for what he had given up.

Still, unlike before, he had people in his life now that cared for him. He didn’t feel like he deserved them (Jack had told him to stop thinking that way. It wasn’t working, but he appreciated the thought), but the fact that they stayed even after what he had done probably meant they were especially worthwhile, right? Maybe he could learn something from Jack’s ability to enjoy the past rather than letting it haunt him. Even though the relationships weren’t all the same as before, some people had stuck with him, including the man he had loved for so long.

And for once, that was enough.

\--End--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand it's over! thanks for reading :D

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first fic I've ever posted! woo. if you read this i love u <3  
> i'm posting another reaper76 fic at the same time as this one, so check for that as well.


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